In 1998 I had the opportunity to produce a documentary with Rick Steves and Kevin Jacobson in Papua New Guinea. This figurine is a memento from that trip. After two days in the air (Chicago to LAX, LAX to Sidney, Sidney to Brisbane, Brisbane to Port Morsbey, Port Morsbey to Goroka, Paupua New Guinea) I found myself eating a chicken dinner at the Bird of Paradise Hotel.

Our visit to coincided with the annual Goroka Show, the best known tribal gathering and cultural event in Papua New Guinea held every year close to the country’s Independence Day. Tribes from all across the country make their way to the Eastern Highlands for a Sing-sing, which includes dancing naked on the local soccer pitch.

As I dug into my chicken dinner (kakaruk in Tok Pisin) in came a group of Asaro Mudmen. According to Wikipedia, “legend has it that they were defeated by an enemy tribe and forced to flee into the Asaro River. They waited until dusk before attempting to escape. The enemy saw them rise from the muddy banks covered in mud and thought they were spirits”.

The post Remembering the Asaro Mud Men of Paupua New Guinea appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

The Goroka Show is a segment from a longer video I produced for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with Rick Steves called “Weaving a Global Neighborhood.”

Papua New Guineans celebrate folk fests more for each other than for the few tourists who visit. The town of Goroka hosts a happy explosion each September when tribes from all over converge for a massive cultural festival known as the Goroka Show. Traditional life thrives here. Each of these dance groups comes from a different region, its name proudly displayed on a signpost. Like our world in general, the four million people of Papua New Guinea are surprisingly diverse. Just about every ethnic group has its own language…imagine 800 different languages in Arizona.

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